MS three user deal. Do we qualify?

[Loose rivets]

I've got a new box MS Office Home and Student. It says, Family Pack, but always says for 3 PCs - nothing about laptops.

We told the guy in the store what we were going to do and he said it was okay, but that so often means very little.

Since my wife and I will be in differing locations with our laptops, will we qualify for a three user deal?

[Saab Dastard]

You have effectively bought 3 x licences for members of your family. Where and what the PCs are is irrelevant, provided only 3 PCs are licensed.

Laptops are PCs for the purposes of licensing.

SD

[Phalconphixer]

Pretty sure that PC's in this instance refers to Microsoft driven personal computers as opposed to other OS like Apple... We have loaded our original of MS Office Home and Student onto two desktop computers and an HP Laptop so it shouldn't be a problem.... You will need to input the product code details onto each PC....

[Phalconphixer]

SB Sorry... simultaneous postings!

pp

[Milo Minderbinder]

Saab is correct

[Spitoon]

Answer is simple in one way and slightly confusing in another. All you have to do is look at the licence agreement.

It says:

You may install one copy of the software on one device. That device is the “licensed device.”
You may only use one copy of the software on the licensed device at a time.
You may install another copy of the software on a portable device for use by the single primary user of the licensed device.

It also says, with respect to Office Home and Student specifically, For software marked “Home and Student” edition, you may install one copy of the software on up to three licensed devices in your household for use by people for whom that is their primary residence.

I'm no lawyer but it seems to me that, for the Home and Student Edition, the household effectively becomes the primary user. So you can install it on three devices which can be used by any number of people who live at the residence (as their primary residence) and on one more portable device, that again can be used by anyone who lives at the residence - except that if the portable device is in use, only two of the other devices can be used at the same time.

But I'm not a lawyer and I can see that there are other interpretations that could be put on the text.

For some reason that I can't explain, I find such things interesting.....

[Loose rivets]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, there are some twists in the wording that even made the eagle-eyed Rivetess shake her head and stomp off back to her den.

The Office pack was less than $50 a seat, so it's not the biggest of deals, but I just need to not waste a penny these days.


Sounds worth a try, though I wonder if the great computer in the æther will spot it when we're in different parts of the UK. No grumbles, yet, with the UK Word 2007 that came this way on my laptop.


Thanks again. R

[Milo Minderbinder]

OK, lets make this easy, as some of you are really making hard weather of this.
For Office Home and Student you can install it on three computers, which must all belong to one family living at the same address. Other versions of Office have different restrictions.
You can't have it split over multiple addresses... so if your daughter goes off to university thats tough. She can't use it (legally...)
Also you cannot use it for business.


Its important to note that earlier versions of Office had different restrictions - Office XP Home edition for instance allowed you to install on three machines, but only use one at a a time. However, that disappeared a long long time ago.

[Saab Dastard]

so if your daughter goes off to university thats tough. She can't use it (legally...)
I don't think that's the case. If their principal residence is still "home" - i.e. where the licence is located - then that's not a problem.

Of course, should they finally flee the nest and leave home and take up permanent residence elsewhere, then that's a different matter.

It's probably academic (pun intended) now that MS have discontinued that product - the only multi-licence home product is 365 :yuk:

SD

[Loose rivets]

I shall be able to give my daughter her 2007 back now. But, another but . . .


Darn disc was faulty. MS phoned me back after half an hour and a nice man in the Philippines took control of my PC and finally downloaded a new copy.

He said get your disc replaced when you can. Such a waste of time insisting on the real thing - could've done that in the first place.



2010 Word, Excel etc., runs, so it will remain to be seen how tightly they police my cavorting about the globe.

[Saab Dastard]

how tightly they police my cavorting about the globe

No policing at all.

SD

[marianoberna]

PC = Personal Computer.

It can be a desktop or laptop. Form factor means nothing to the licenses.

[Spitoon]

For Office Home and Student you can install it on three computers, which must all belong to one family living at the same address.
Doesn't say anything about belonging to one family, just being in the same household. Likewise, it doesn't say living at the address, just calling the address their primary residence.